UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT ERDOGAN
By Emre Basaran and Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye and Romania have set a target of $15 billion in bilateral trade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
"Bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Romania exceeded $10 billion for two consecutive years," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with visiting Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at the presidential complex in Ankara.
"Our goal is to reach $15 billion," he added.
Noting the growing relations between Ankara and Bucharest through mutual high-level visits, Erdogan said recent visits to Romania by Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Romania were beneficial.
Through the joint declaration signed on Tuesday, the president said he and Ciolacu established the Türkiye-Romania High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
"We chaired the first meeting of the mechanism. In this way, we have reached another historical milestone in our relations,” he added.
The meeting also discussed improving energy collaboration, he said, emphasizing that cooperation in the defense industry and military field is one of the "important pillars" of relations with Romania.
In recent years, he said they have seen significant growth in both defense industry collaboration and military cooperation.
Stating that fighting terrorism was also on the agenda for the meeting, the president said: “We shared our expectations from Romania regarding the fight against terrorist organizations such as the PKK and FETO with the Prime Minister."
Erdogan also said that Ankara has implemented a passport-free policy for Romanian travelers.
"We have implemented a regulation that will enable Romanian citizens to travel to our country with their identity card," Erdogan added.
Last month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said that Türkiye’s direct investments in Romania have reached $7.5 billion, adding that Romania is one of the top 10 countries among EU member states where Turkish companies invest, and in the contracting sector, it is a country that ranks first in Europe.
- Global community’s responsibilities in Gaza
Underlining that the meeting also addressed regional and global developments, Erdogan said Israel’s oppression in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories were discussed.
“The responsibilities of the international community are evident in stopping Israeli atrocities and ensuring the security of our Palestinian brothers. However, despite this, steps to prevent the massacre are still not being taken.
“Netanyahu and his reckless government continue their genocide policies at the expense of endangering the security of their own citizens. It is now necessary to put an end to this. I believe that our ally Romania will contribute as needed to the international efforts being made on this issue,” he said.
The Turkish president said the Russia-Ukraine War was also discussed, and that Ankara has made significant contributions, and continues to do so, since the beginning of the conflict, "towards ending hostilities, ensuring global food security, and maintaining navigation safety in the Black Sea."
He added that Türkiye will continue to work to strengthen its relations with Romania to benefit both countries.
- 6 agreements signed
Following the First Meeting of the Türkiye-Romania High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which was attended by delegations from both countries, six agreements were signed in the presence of Erdogan and Ciolacu.
An administrative agreement on the implementation of the Türkiye-Romania social security agreement, which was signed on July 6, 1999.
An agreement on cooperation in the field of urbanism was signed.
The Turkish Tourism and Culture Ministry and the Romanian Economy and Tourism Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation, as well as a memorandum of understanding on small and medium-sized enterprise support between the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry and the Romanian Economy and Tourism Ministry.
A protocol on cooperation in the training and education of law enforcement personnel between the Turkish government and the Romanian government was also signed.
In addition, an agreement was signed allowing family members of diplomatic and consular staff to work in income-generating activities.